Maureen Cavanagh is an author and the founder of Magnolia New Beginnings, a non-profit 501c3 organization that provides access to online support groups for anyone struggling with a loved one’s addiction and provides access to recovery housing in Massachusetts. She is also a CCAR recovery coach and trainer, family recovery coach and interventionist and President of Magnolia Recovery and Consulting Services.

Maureen’s first book, a gripping memoir, If You Love Me: A Mother’s Journey through Her Daughter’s Opioid Addiction, is a story of a mother who suddenly finds herself on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic as her daughter battles—and ultimately reckons with—substance use disorder. The memoir was published by Henry Holt/MacMillan in 2018. If You Love Me was favorably reviewed by the NY Times, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and the audiobook was named a runner up for Amazon/Audibles 2018 Memoir of the Year.

Maureen holds a B.S. in Communications from Weber State University, an MPA in nonprofit management from Suffolk University, an M.Ed Special Education/ESOL from Salem State University, and speaks nationally on the impact of substance use disorder on the family and the power of hope. 

Maureen’s unforgettable story, told with love and humor, brings the opioid crisis out of the shadows and into the house next door. Her real-life account is inspiring and harrowing, and ultimately a story of recovery and renewal.

Maureen lives near Boston, Massachusetts. She is the mother of four, and Mom to quite a few ‘extra children,’ and is enjoying every minute of watching her daughter, and many others she has grown to love, bloom in recovery. She believes deeply that education, connection to others, and sharing stories of recovery are integral in the midst of this crisis.